General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12): new evidence of construct validity.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Psychometrics
• Occupational Health

Background:

• The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is a widely used screening tool for psychological distress.
• Its psychometric properties and applicability in specific professional groups, such as physicians in Brazil, require validation.
• Understanding the instrument's structure and its relation to health indicators is crucial for accurate assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric adequacy of the GHQ-12 among Brazilian physicians.
• To test the GHQ-12's bifactor structure against alternative models.
• To examine the factorial invariance of the GHQ-12 across gender and mental health diagnoses, and its association with health indicators.

Main Methods:

• A random sample of 1,085 Brazilian physicians completed the GHQ-12 and the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Inventory.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the bifactor model with alternative structures.
• Factorial invariance was assessed across gender and mental health diagnoses.

Main Results:

• The bifactor model, comprising general distress, anxiety, and depression dimensions, demonstrated the best fit.
• Reliability measures (Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, composite reliability) exceeded 0.70 for the general factor.
• Psychological distress scores were significantly associated with suicidal ideation and indicators of health and sexual satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• The GHQ-12 is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing psychological distress in Brazilian physicians when used in its total score.
• The specific factors (anxiety, depression) should be interpreted with caution due to potential limitations in their distinct measurement.
• Further research may explore the nuances of these specific factors in clinical and research settings.